


Uprooted

by shyshy723



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Consensual Underage Sex?, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Smut?, Fluff and Angst, Gay, Gay Male Character, How Do I Tag, I post very infrequently, M/M, Pansexual Character, Tags May Change, Underage Drinking, maybe? - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2018-01-18
Packaged: 2018-09-22 18:20:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9619514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shyshy723/pseuds/shyshy723
Summary: It's very rare for a student to transfer schools in the wizarding world; there really isn't any need to as each region has its own school. Unfortunately for muggleborn Leo Avery, this isn't the case. Living in a military family has left him with three different experiences at three different wizarding schools, none of which were positive, and at the end of each year he was moved somewhere else. Now entering his fourth year of school, Leo's father has been stationed in London, meaning he will be attending Hogwarts through the 2014-2015 school year.A/N: This story is based on the world of Harry Potter created by J.K. Rowling, but all the important roles in the story are characters that I have created with the help of my friends. For the most part, it doesn't involve any of the story-line from the Harry Potter series, but I do try to keep things as canon as possible. This story is unbeta'd!





	1. Character Descriptions

**Author's Note:**

> It's just a personal preference, but I like to put character descriptions for my OCs at the beginning of my stories so readers know who is who when reading. I know some think it's annoying, but I prefer to.

Name: Leo Avery

Gender: Male

Origins: Los Angeles, California

Sexuality: Pansexual

Age: 14

Birthday: August 1st, 2000

House: Slytherin

Blood Status: Muggleborn

Wand Info: larch wood, 9 3/4", dragon heartstring core, surprisingly swishy flexibility

Patronus: Chow dog

 

Immediate Family:

Father - Brian Avery, part of the air force 

Mother - Melissa Avery, stay-at-home mom w/ four kids

Siblings - Austin Avery (age 17), Jason Avery (16), Emily Avery (age 11), 

 

Visual Description:

Eyes - round, blue/grey

Hair - blonde, buzzcut-like in the back and comes to a fringe at the front

Body Type - skinny, gaunt; very slender looking face with prominent cheek bones, weighs 125 lb.

Height - 5'3"

 

Personality Traits:

Personality type - ISFP (gentle, cheerful, go with the flow, very friendly, strong aesthetic sense)

Likes - Dancing, anything in relation to making art (includes listening to and making music), tall boys, the color blue, books, sweaters, the ocean, cats, dogs, horses, sweets, music of all kinds, skateboards, cuddles, kisses on the forehead, stormy nights, and many kinds of tea, leather jackets (Coincidentally, Klein just so happens to have one :D)

Dislikes - being late, selfishness, rudeness, moving around to different places, waking up early, spiders, dishonesty

 

\-------------

Name: Klein Beanntan (Kl-eye-n Bee-ant-tun)

Gender: Male

Origins: Newcastle, County Down, Ireland

Sexuality: Gay

Age: 14

Birthday: July 2nd, 2000

House: Gryffindor

Blood Status: pure-blood

Wand Info: Yew wood, 13", phoenix feather core, unbending flexibility

Patronus: Brown bear

 

Immediate Family:

Father - Aedan Beanntan, radio broadcaster on Wizarding Wireless Network

Mother - Caitlin Beanntan, magizoologist

Siblings - Sarah Beanntan (age 8), Claire Beanntan (age 5)

 

Visual Description:

Eyes - honey-like golden brown, confidence is visible in them

Hair - Red, messy and shaggy, wears a maroon bandanna w/ yellow stripes (Picture at the top is how he wears the bandanna, but that's not how his hair looks)

Body Type - muscular, tall, square jaw 

Height - 5'9"

Personality Traits:

Personality Type - ESTP (energetic, thrill-seeker, active and playful, good sense of humor, social)

Likes - Quidditch, loud parties, vacations, pizza and butterbeer, dragons, bonfires, piercings, tattoos, practical jokes, smiles and laughter, kissing bare skin, dogs, coffee, chocolate, adrenaline rushes, taking dares, skinny dipping, telling stories, sugar highs, that hazy sleepy feeling you get when laying out in the warm sun for a long time

Dislikes - people who don't like jokes, rain, homework, being bored, making mistakes, sad news, mosquitoes, stress, liars, snakes, snobs, rats


	2. Welcome to Hogwarts

Leo's whole family looked quite out of place standing in the middle of the platform, dressed in muggle clothes and having no indication of having any sort of magical abilities whatsoever. Of course it won't come as a surprise at all when I say that they weren't magical; only Leo was, which is exactly why he was fidgeting nervously with the hem of his navy blue sweater and blatantly refusing to move from the spot in which he was standing on Platform 9 3/4.

The Hogwarts Express stood in front of him, billowing thick puffs of steam, while other families sending off their own children surrounded him. Still staring at the enormous train in front of him, he swallowed the lump in his throat and managed to stutter the words, "I-I really don't want to go," his American accent standing out against the see of British and some Irish voices.

His father, who was really not all that ecstatic to be there either, patted him on the shoulder. "I know you don't. I'm sorry that my job forces you to change schools so often, but my new assignment in London should mean that we stay here until you finish whatever kind of school your kind has."

Leo's mother, Melissa, shushed the man. "Brian, don't make it sound like he's that different! He's still our son."

"Sorry! sorry," his father said sheepishly. He turned to Leo again and whispered, "Don't let it be like the year you got sent to Durmstrang." Leo socked him in the arm, and his father laughed.

"We don't speak about that!" Leo protested.

"Oh come on, it's pretty funny that they all towered over you by at least five inches!" Brian joked.

Austin, the oldest sibling, scoffed and crossed his arms. "Okay, we get it. He's a tiny fuckin' weirdo-"

The audible gasp from Melissa, Brian warning Austin not to say the bad word again and be nicer to his younger brother, Leo's two other siblings, Jacob and Emily, yelling in sing-song voices, "Austin is in trouble," and Austin himself trying to tell them to shut up all mingled together in a loud cacophony of sounds. All the poor fourteen year-old wizard could do was put his face in his hands and hope that no one was paying attention to the scene.

A short ten minutes later, Leo was hugging his family goodbye, except for Austin. Austin was sitting by the wall that led out of Platform 9 3/4 glaring at them. "I'll write to you," He assured. "I would call, but I know electronic devices don't work around wizarding schools." Hesitantly letting go of them all, he picked up his suitcases and started walking towards the Hogwarts Express. "I'll see you all again at winter break," he called out, smiling weakly as they all waved to him and shouted choruses of goodbyes and "We'll miss yous."

Leo didn't feel like conversing with people he didn't know, so he ended up alone, sitting in silence and staring out the window, in one of the very last compartments on the train. Thoughts of the looming school year captivated his mind. They'd definitely know he was new, for there was no way he would be able to pass as a first year, even with a short as he was. What would they think? The boy eventually fell into a doze, his head leaning against the glass, as the outside world gave way to a blur of green fields and trees. His nap didn't last long, as he was awoken by the sound of the trolley witch making her way down the train car. Leo frowned as the smell of food hit his nose and made his stomach grumble. He had not even a knut to spend, so he sat staring longingly at the treats on the trolley as it passed by, and then back out the window.

"This sucks ass," he sighed, throwing his head back into the cushion on the seat and staring at the ceiling.

"Eh, it's not really that bad," a thick Irish accent chuckled. Leo jumped and turned quickly to face the compartment door. Standing there leaning against the door with his hands in his pockets was a tall, burly looking boy wearing baggy jeans and a plain black t-shirt. He had the messiest and shaggiest red hair he'd ever seen; the only thing keeping it semi-under control was the maroon and yellow bandanna he wore.

"Um-"

"You're new."

Caught off guard, Leo looked down at his lap, silent.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude or anything. It was just an observation." The red-head chuckled again, removing his hands from is pockets and crossing his arms. 

"How did you know?" Leo said, though knew immediately it was a stupid question and continued to look down at his lap and fidget with his hands.

"Well, your accent is the dead giveaway, but it's not just that, there's smaller things about you that point it out. For instance, I've never seen you before, but that could be said about a lotta kids at Hogwarts. It's a big school, ya know?"

"Oh," Leo mumbled. "That makes sense."

"So, what's your name, mate?" The other boy asked, walking over and plopping down into the seat directly in front of the blonde, leaning over to try and get a better look at the smaller wizard.

"L-Leo Avery," he stuttered, diverting his gaze to the window as he felt heat rush to his face and ears, and silently cursed himself for being shy. Taking a breath, he looked back at Klein, smiled, and asked, "What's yours?" 

"Klein Beanntan, nice to meet you, Leo!" Klein beamed at Leo, and the blonde boy could only stare in wonder at the confident young wizard seated in front of him.

"Are you like a gift from whatever God that exists?" Leo mumbled, although a little too loudly because Klein snorted, then burst into laughter, doubling over.

"What makes you say that?" The Irish wizard gasped between fits of laughter.

The warm feeling returned to Leo's face, and he glanced downwards. "I-Just. It's been three years since anyone has really tried to be my friend. And here you are on my first day at a new school trying to be my friend," he murmured. "Not that there's anything wrong with that!" He continued quickly, "I appreciate it immensely, thank you! But why would you do such a thing?"

"Eh well, you looked like you needed someone to talk to, and I like to help, so here I am, friend," Klein smirked, lying down and stretching out his entire body over the seat cushions opposite Leo, crossed his arms over his stomach, and looked up at the ceiling of the compartment. "I like talking to people. Every single person is like a snowflake. Each has a different story; no two are the same. I like listening to those stories. So," he turned his head to look back at Leo, "What's yours?"

So they talked, and talked, and talked. Leo told him about how he was born in a city in the United States called Los Angeles, how it was a coastal city and that he used to go to the beach every day, and how his first year of wizarding school was at Ilvermorny where his house had been Thunderbird. He told him how his father worked for the American Air Force, and that was why he never stayed at a school for more than a year because they moved around so much (though his father's words about staying rang clearly in his head and he hoped desperately that they were true). He told Klein about his mother, Melissa, who he loved dearly for always having faith in him. Leo also mentioned his siblings: Austin, the oldest, Jacob, the second oldest, and Emily, who was the youngest, and how none of them had a single drop of magical blood in them.

In turn, Klein told him about his family. His father, Aedan, worked for the most popular radio station in the magical world, Wizarding Wireless Network. His mother, Caitlin, was a magizoologist. He also had two younger sisters: Sarah and Claire. Klein also talked about Hogwarts, like what classes you could take and what the houses were and what they were known for. He talked about the carriages that took the students up to Hogwarts at the beginning of each year and how they looked like they moved by themselves. He babbled on and on about quidditch and how he loved playing on the Gryffindor team as Keeper and that Leo would love quidditch, too, if he tried out.

Eventually Klein looked out the window and declared that they start putting on their school robes, as they were very close to Hogwarts castle and would be getting off any time within the next ten minutes. As the train slowed to a stop, everyone started opening their compartments and heading towards the exit of the train with their luggage. Leo tried desperately to swallow the lump in his throat. Suddenly all the nervousness that Klein had managed to make him forget about came rushing back with a vengeance.

"You'll be fine," Klein assured, reading his tense body language like a book.

"How are you so sure?" Leo grumbled while walking off the train, eyeing the other skeptically.

"'Cause everyone feels the same on their first day at a school they've never been to. I felt exactly like you do now when I first arrived here in my first year." He met Leo's gaze and smiled brightly.

Shouts of other students filled the air, and as Leo looked forward, he saw a very large, tall man with long brown hair and beard bellowing in a deep gravelly voice, "Firs' years over here! Come on, now, to the boats! Firs' years!" 

"And I thought you were tall," Leo muttered to Klein, causing the Irish boy to snort loudly.

"That's 'cause you're tiny compared to everyone," Klein grinned. Leo socked him in the shoulder as a reply.

"Okay, but seriously, it's technically my first year here. Do I need to go on the boats? Because I really don't want to," The blonde boy asked nervously.

Klein thought for a second, and then shook his head. "Nah, I wouldn't think so."

"Alright, cool." Leo shrugged, and followed Klein through the thick crowd towards what he presumed to be the self-drawn carriages that the taller boy had been talking about.

Suddenly someone crashed into Klein from behind, and sent the poor teen reeling. "There you are, you bastard!" The person shouted, having grabbed Klein by back of his collar to keep him standing upright. He was tall, even taller than Klein, looked slightly older, and had short brown hair and glasses and was wearing an undone yellow tie around his neck.

Leo opened his mouth to say something, but the words died in is throat as two other people came rushing up from behind, panting.

"Where the hell did you go?" one of them yelled in between breaths. He had black curly hair that was shaved on the sides and had a blonde streak at the front, black square glasses, and was wearing a varsity jacket over his button-up shirt and green striped tie that had "Slytherin no. 7" printed on the back. Leo noticed that he also had an Irish accent, though not as thick as Klein's.

The second person was dark skinned, also wore glasses, had a yellow tie just like the first boy did, and had on a black cardigan with a patch that read "Hufflepuff" on the upper right side. "You need to stop disappearing," he breathed out, doubled over from exhaustion. He definitely wasn't Irish, the blonde boy noted. He sounded more likehe was from Bristol, though Leo couldn't be sure because he'd only ever talkedto one person in all of England that was from Bristol.

"We've been looking for you everywhere!" the first boy said, punching Klein playfully in the arm.

Klein laughed and grabbed onto the teen's shoulder and reached up to ruffle the teen's hair. "Just making new friends, that's all. Everyone, this is Leo," he said, nodding his head towards the small wizard.

Embarrassed at the large amount of attention being directed at him, he ducked his head. "Hi," he mumbled, sticking his hands in his pants pockets and looking at his shoes.

"Leo, these are my other friends. Tall guy is Trent, gay boy with the blonde streak is Marcus-"

"Fuck you, I'm bi!"

"Yeah, yeah whatever, and the innocent sun child is Darius. They're all 5th years," Klein finished, pointing to each person as he named them.

Trent held out his hand, and Leo, never the one to be rude to strangers, shook it and smiled shyly. "I've never seen you before," Trent observed. "I'm gonna guess that you're new?"

"Obviously," Marcus interjected before Leo had the chance to say anything. "He has an American accent. I've never heard one in the school, so he must be. Am I right, short-stack?" Marcus teased.

Leo groaned, and rubbed his eyes. "Why does it have to be this obvious?" he inquired.

"Be nice! He's nervous," Darius remarked, coming to the defense of the small teen. "You don't need to tease him right as soon as you meet him."

Leo sputtered, afraid that he would end up making someone mad. "NO! N-no, It's fine. I'm used to it, really," he stammered quickly. "I'm just nervous, that's all. It's really no big deal."

Marcus slung an arm around Leo's shoulders. "See, Darius? It's fine with him, no big deal!" He turned to Klein and smirked. "Soooo," he drawled, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively and flicked his eyes between the blonde and the red-head. "Did you two do anything worthy of gossip while on the train?" The comment left both Leo and Klein spluttering as the red tint in their faces grew deeper by the second. Marcus let go of Leo and walked away towards the carriages, laughing.

"That's cold," Darius commented, while Trent just stood there with his mouth hanging wide open at the crude joke Marcus had made.

The four of them followed after the retreating form of the 5th year student, and rejoined him as he was getting into the next carriage.

"So," Klein started as the carriage lurched forwards, "what house do you think you're gonna be in?"

Leo shrugged his shoulders. 'I honestly have no idea. I didn't even know the names of the houses until you told me what they were when we were on the train. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin right?"

The group nodded their heads. "I'm a Slytherin," Marcus chimed in. "Our friend Bram is in Slytherin, too. You'll meet him later tonight most likely. We couldn't find him on the train. Probably off with his girlfriend somewhere. She's a Ravenclaw, and I believe in the same year as you and Klein." 

"Trent and I are Hufflepuffs," Darius added.

"I'm in Gryffindor," Klein finished. "So that kind of gives you an idea of what kind of people end up where."

"I honestly still have no idea. I see bits of myself in all of the houses, so I guess I won't know until I'm sorted," Leo concluded.

"You're gonna have to go up there with all of the first years?" Marcus questioned with a smile. "God, I feel bad for you."

"Why?"

"They're terrible," Trent interjected. "It's like they get worse every year."

"Hey!" Klein shouted, "I wasn't that bad, and it's not like you guys are older than me by much anyways!" The entire carriage laughed, including Leo, while Klein all shot them fake dirty looks before joining in.

Slowly the carriage came to a halt at the entrance to a very large, beautiful castle.

As everyone got off, Leo stared in awe of the immense structure. "This is amazing," he breathed, letting his eyes roam over every inch of the construction and trying his best to take the sight in all in at once. He glanced over to Klein, who was looking at him with a grin on his face.

"Welcome to Hogwarts!" the red-head beamed.


	3. The Sorting Ceremony

The Great Hall was filled with the chatter of a thousand students as the group walked though giant wooden doors, but Leo wasn't focused on the chatter. No, his attention was aimed towards the ceiling.

"What the..." he whispered to himself as he gazed upwards. The ceiling had been enchanted to look like the sky, and as of that moment it shown with millions of beautiful twinkling little stars.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Klein asked.

"Yeah, definitely something, alright," Leo agreed.

But as the group started splitting off to go to their House's tables, he stood there, lost and very bewildered. Klein hesitated before finally concluding that this was where they would have to split ways for now, and Leo would have to go stand with the first years at the front. Wishing Leo good luck, Klein turned and sat down at the table covered in red decorations; the Gryffindor table.

Leo took a deep breath and sighed, before slowly making his way in between tables to where the first years were gathered. Not too long after, a woman with a stony expression, wispy gray hair that was tied in a tight bun, dressed in dark purple robes, and a matching pointy hat stood up from the teacher's dining table. The sense of authority that emitted from her very being carried in waves throughout the immense room, silencing the mass of students in mere seconds without having to say a word. Her facial expression softened, and she opened her mouth to speak.

"Good evening to you all. Welcome first years, and welcome back to our second years and above. I am Headmistress Mcgonagall, though I am more easily referred to as Professor McGonagall, but either title works. Before we start our feast, we must continue with a few things. Firstly, welcome the Hogwarts Choir. They will be singing our school song."

About thirty to forty students from all four tables rose from their seats and arranged themselves in front of the teacher's dining table in rows. At the front conducting was a very short man. Leo listened as not just the choir, but everyone in the room that knew the lyrics sang along:

Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,  
Teach us something please,  
Whether we be old and bald,  
Or young with scabby knees,  
Our heads could do with filling,  
With some interesting stuff,  
For now they're bare and full of air,  
Dead flies and bits of fluff,  
So teach us things worth knowing,  
Bring back what we've forgot,  
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,  
And learn until our brains all rot

About two minutes after the song had been finished and everyone was sitting down and all was quiet again, Mcgonagall continued with her speech. "Secondly, I believe it's time for our Sorting Ceremony of our first years. This year, however, it's a little bit different."

Leo's stomach lurched. Ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod- he thought.

"We have a new student with us this year, however, he is not a first year. He is a transfer student from America. Leo Avery, if you would kindly stand up so we could give you a nice warm welcome, that would be lovely."

With his face burning hot and turning at least sixty different shades of red and counting, Leo slowly stood up as applause and a few whispers filled the Great Hall.

"Thank you, Mr. Avery. You will be getting sorted along with the first years. The list goes in alphabetical order, so you will be one of the first sorted." She then turned to address all of the first years. "You will be sorted by our Sorting Hat. When your name is called, step up to the stool, sit down and place the hat on your head. It will shout out your house, then proceed to join your peers at their table."

Leo felt like he was going to throw up as he watched "the Sorting Hat", as they had called it, being sat down upon the wooden stool. It twitched to life and said some sort of poem that must have been good, because the applause that followed was very loud. Leo didn't hear it through his racing thoughts, though, and as the first names where called, they only raced faster and faster.

"Maddison Abel..."

A petite little girl with black hair and blue eyes cautiously made her way to the stool and let the hat sit on her head. It didn't take the Sorting Hat long at all to decide, for the hat had been sitting there for barely four seconds when a large rip in its face, at least that's what Leo presumed it to be anyway, opened like a mouth and it bellowed:

"RAVENCLAW!"

A loud cheer erupted from the table decorated in blue, and the girl tossed the hat back onto the stool and ran to greet her peers as the next student was called forward.

"Parker Adams..."

A boy with a mop of light brown hair started moving through the crowd of first years. He was very skinny, and had constellations of freckles scattered all over his face. He walked excitedly towards the stool and sat down. This time, it took a little bit longer before the hat barked out:

"GRYFFINDOR!"

This time the cheer came from the table that Klein had sat down at, and Leo quickly scanned over it, looking for the already familiar sight of the messy red hair and bandanna. 

And so the pattern continued.

"Theodore Adkins..."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Victoria Akers..."

"SLYTHERIN!"

Two Hufflepuffs, a Slytherin, and a Gryffindor later, Leo's name was called.

"Leo Avery..."

Don't trip, don't trip, don't you dare fucking trip, Leo repeated in his head as he numbly made his way up to the Sorting Hat, where he cautiously sat down and placed the tattered thing on his head.

Suddenly a voice was in his thoughts. Hmm, it pondered. Interesting, very interesting. I think you'll do well in...

"SLYTHERIN!"

Leo both saw and heard Marcus above every other person at the Slytherin table. The 5th year boy was jumping up and down, waving his arms at him, and screaming. He stifled a giggle as he got up and walked towards his new peers. He passed Klein on the way over, and he got a pat in the middle of his back. "Kinda wished you would have been a Gryffindor," the red-head admitted, trying his best to talk over the sudden roar from Hufflepuff as they got a new member.

"Sorry," Leo, smiling sheepishly.

"Eh well, it's not your fault," Klein shrugged. "You had no idea what your house was gonna be." 

"But still-"

"Nope, not gonna hear it! Now go to Marcus! If you stay here for much longer I think he's gonna have an aneurysm," The Irish teen laughed, nodding towards the Slytherin table. "It's funny as hell!"

Sure enough, as soon as Leo looked over in that direction, he saw Marcus having what appeared to be a seizure while simultaneously making grabby hands at Leo.

"Hilarious," Leo commented sarcastically.

Klein shoved him towards the table. "Go! Before he ends up dead somehow!"

"Alright, alright," Leo chuckled.

Marcus all but tackled him when he got within arm's reach. "MY SMALL CHILD!" he shrieked. "WELCOME TO YOUR NEW HOME!"

"Marcus, shove a sock in it," an unfamiliar voice chimed in from behind where Leo was standing. Marcus narrowed his eyes, but then shrugged it off, and let the blonde boy out of his grip and sitting back down.

Leo turned towards where the sound came from, and was met by the sight of a pale boy with piercing blue eyes and near white colored hair. "Hi," the boy asserted, cocking an eyebrow at him. He had to have been younger, but it wasn't by much, and his accent was very different than anyone else's that he'd heard. "My name is Drake. You're the new one, right?"

"Yeah, I'm Leo. I'm from the United States" he replied, taking a seat between Drake and Marcus.

"I would have been in your situation if my family had gone through with their plan of waiting to move to England," Drake commented. "I'm from Flekkefjord, Norway."

"Los Angeles, California," Leo replied

Suddenly Marcus leaned over, and muttered to Drake, "Do the thing!" Drake cocked an eyebrow again, and smirked at the raven haired teen.

Puzzled, Leo looked at Drake, and then Marcus. "What?"

"I'm with Leo," Drake said, feigning confusion. "What thing?"

Marcus rolled his eyes, and scoffed. "You know, the thing you can do?"

Leo was still utterly confused, but Drake smirked again.

"Alrighty then."

Leo turned around to ask again what exactly was "the thing," but the words died in his throat instantly.

Drake was no longer sitting there. Occupying his seat instead was a speckled white, feathery winged creature with four legs that each had a set of decently sized talons, a tail with feathers, and an owl's face. It was about the size of a one year-old baby, and made just about the same screeching noise as one.

"Isn't it amazing?" Marcus asked him excitedly, having to yell over the tremendous sound that the Gryffindor table made as another first year joined their ranks.

"It's...It's uh....What just...Huh?" Leo stammered, completely and utterly baffled as to what he was looking at.

"He's an animagus!" the fifth year informed him. "His beast form is a gryphowl."

"A what?"

"It's an animal that's basically half griffin and half owl."

"But...aren't griffins already half cat and half eagle?" Leo questioned, looking back towards Marcus. "So wouldn't it just be half cat and half owl instead of the eagle bit?"

Marcus paused for a second, then shrugged. "I don't fucking know. Rule number one is don't trust any 'fact' that comes out of my mouth 'cause I probably made it up."

"That's very true."

Leo whirled around to see that Drake was once again seated in his spot and eavesdropping on their conversation while gazing at the Sorting Ceremony.

Once again, Leo opened his mouth to ask a question, but realized it would probably only raise more questions than answers, and closed his mouth again.

Five minutes later, the Sorting Ceremony had finished, and Headmistress McGonagall stepped forward again. "The last thing on the agenda for tonight are the school rules," She started. "Students shall not leave Hogwarts grounds. The Forbidden Forest is especially off limits, unless you are being escorted by a faculty member. Students must be in their dormitories and in bed by the 10:00 p.m. curfew, and are not allowed to leave their house common rooms until 6:00 a.m. Magic should only be used by students in relation to school work, or approved extracurricular activities. Students shall maintain decorum and good behavior at all times. Swearing, snogging, shouting in the halls, vandalism, fighting, provoking Peeves, and releasing puffskeins in Mr. Pringle's office during mating season are strictly forbidden. During breakfast and dinner meals, such as now, all students are required to remain at their house tables for the duration of the meal. During lunchtime meals, this rule is less strictly enforced, and will only take effect if problems arise. And last, but not least, is that on the first and third weekends of each month, third through seventh years may visit Hogsmeade Village with a permission slip from the student's parent or guardian.

All rule-breaking can be met with disciplinary action, a few of some meaning the loss of house points and/or detentions." She took a deep breath. "With that all being said, I do believe that it's time to eat!" She waved her wand, and food appeared all down the long tables. Chatter erupted as students reached for different dishes.

As Leo reached for a plate of chicken legs, a boy with black hair and glasses sat down in front of the three, and greeted Marcus with a smile.

"Hey, Bwam!" Marcus said around a mouthful of mashed potatoes. He swallowed, and then pointed to Leo. "Leo, this is our friend Bram. I believe we mentioned him in the carriage?" 

"Yeah," Leo nodded, holding his hand over the table. "My name is Leo Avery. It's nice to meet you."

Bram reached out and shook Leo's hand. "Bram Bones, and likewise."

"So where were you during the Sorting Ceremony?" Marcus asked, while reaching across the table toward a plate of dinner rolls.

"With my girl," Bram shrugged.

"Ha! Called it!" Marcus yelled gleefully. "Probably making out the whole time, I bet."

"Marcus, if you don't shut up I will shove my foot up your ass."

"Oh daddy, you're so kinky!" Marcus moaned in the highest pitch he could muster, and broke into a fit of laughter.

Bram rolled his eyes, and kicked Marcus in the shin from underneath the table, making 5th year yelp.

"So, you have a girlfriend?" Leo asked curiously. "They mentioned her too, but they didn't tell me anything about her."

"You can't miss her," Bram smiled. "Her hair is bright blue."

"Really? That's so cool!" Leo bubbled.

"It's really easy for her to change the colors of it too. She's a metamorphmagus, so she can change her appearance a will without having to drink polyjuice potion."

"That's awesome," Leo breathed. "I wish I could do that, but my hair is just stuck plain old blonde." He puffed a jet of air upwards, fluffing his fringe to prove a point. "But really she sounds awesome!"

"I could introduce you to her tomorrow during lunch, if I get the chance to. But if you try to do anything to her I swear-"

"He's not gonna take your girl, mate. He's already got a love affair with our little baby Klein going on, now don't ya?" Marcus interrupted, poking Leo in the ribs with his elbow and wiggling his eyebrows.

"Shut up!" The blonde boy exclaimed, smacking Marcus on the arm, but Marcus just chuckled and went back to digging into his food.

The rest of their meal was spent relatively in silence, for they were all starving and wanted nothing more than to eat to their hearts' contents. When they finished, they all stretched.

"Well," Marcus started. "How was your first evening at Hogwarts?"

Leo thought about it for a second, then replied, "To be honest, I've moved around so much that I never really gave this place a chance. I thought I was just going to hate it like every other school that I've gone to. But thanks to you guys, this year isn't gonna be that bad at all." Leo smiled. "I think I'm really gonna like it here."


	4. Of Potions and Fake Dragons

Leo went straight to bed after briefly exploring the large Slytherin common room and fourth year dorms, falling onto the four poster bed with a huff and yanking the curtains closed.

The next morning, he stumbled sleepily through the common room, his new green tie dangling around his neck untied.

"You look like shit," Marcus drawled lazily as he half-sat and half-lied down on one of the many dark colored sofas.

"Thanks, so do you," Leo yawned, grabbing the tie and trying his best to tie it around his neck.

"Don't insult me, honey, I'm fabulous!" the fifth year scoffed jokingly. 

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going to breakfast. Care to join me or are you gonna continue to sit there like someone is drawing you like one of their French girls?"

Marcus chuckled and stood up, following Leo out of the dungeons and to the Great Hall. Many of the students were already sat down at the tables and conversing while eating.

"Good morning," Drake called from a segment with empty seats.

"What's up?" Leo asked, plopping himself down in a seat facing towards the animagus.

"Nothing much," he replied, reaching for the platter of scrambled eggs.

"I forgot how much I hate waking up early," Marcus groaned as he sat down next to Leo.

"Coming from a military family, this is pretty normal for me," Leo shrugged, grabbing a few pieces of toast from a plate.

Marcus choked on his pumpkin juice. "What?! How?! Why?!" he spluttered, horrified by the idea of being forced to wake up early.

"If my dad's up, everyone's up. It's simple."

"Nothing about that is simple!"

Leo just giggled.

At that moment, the post arrived. Loud fluttering filled the Great Hall as owls of all kinds flew down to the tables, each carrying letters, newspapers, or packages. Two barn owls landed in front of the three, one of which failing horribly and rolling head over talons into the butter for the toast.

"Beans!" Marcus exclaimed excitedly, helping the poor owl upright again.

"Beans?" Leo asked incredulously. "That's his name?"

"Yep!" the fifth year chimed while straightening the feathers of the ruffled bird, and untying the letter from its leg.

"Who's the other owl then?" Leo replied quizzically.

"She's mine," Drake answered, stroking the head of the second barn owl. "Her name is Athena."

Marcus snorted. "You and your 'nice' names. Beans is a fantastic name, isn't it Beans?" Beans hooted happily and nuzzled his face against Marcus' cheek.

A screech owl with rusty colored feathers landed abruptly in front of Leo, and held out its leg where a letter was tied.

"You should probably get that," Marcus addressed. "It's your schedule. That's what Drake and I just got."

Leo untied the letter and opened it, reading over his yearly schedule.

"Shit, I have History of Magic today," Marcus whined, throwing down his schedule and running a hand through his hair.

"What's so bad about History of Magic?" Leo asked quizzically, still skimming over his own piece of parchment.

"Mr Binns, the professor, is a ghost with the worst monotone voice you will ever hear."

"Oh."

"He really is. It's terrible," Drake chimed in, his eyes focused intently on his own schedule.

"Yeah. Well, at least I know I'm taking a nap today. How about you, what lessons do you have for the day?"

Leo looked for Tuesday on the paper, and read off the list, "Double Transfiguration, Potions, History of Magic-"

"Good luck with that one, for reasons I just stated," Marcus interrupted.

"Yeah, thanks. Anyways, as I was saying, History of Magic, and then Muggle Studies."

\--------------------

"History of Magic, Herbology, Potions, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts," Klein muttered, glaring down at the piece of parchment that was laying on the table. "Fantastic."

"What's up?" a ginger-haired, pale fifth year inquired, glancing up from his plate full of pancakes.

"I have Binns right after breakfast today," Klein groaned, letting his head fall onto the table with a resounding thud.

"That sucks."

"Yeah, no shit Sutton!" the fourth year said in a mock angry tone, though his smile immediately gave him away.

"It's really not that bad. At least you get to sleep," Sutton shrugged before taking another bite of his breakfast.

"What do you have for your first lesson?"

"Charms."

"You lucky shit!! That's a class that I decently like," Klein pouted.

"Yeah, Professor Flitwick is pretty cool," Sutton agreed. 

Sure enough, a little over an hour later, Klein was woken up by the bell signalling the end of his first lesson and with no clue if he had homework or not. Shrugging to himself, he picked up his bag and headed towards to greenhouses.

"Good morning, Fred!" the red-head yelled as the Gryffindor Ghost floated above the corridor, giggling with Peeves, who was blowing spitballs into the clusters of students.

"And a fine morning it is, Beantann!" the transparent ghost yelled back, tipping an imaginary hat. "If I were you, I would avoid the left end of the third floor during your trip to your last lesson!"

"Thanks, Fred!" Klein beamed. "I'm guessing you and Peeves have planned something of the devious sort?"

"Absolutely not!" Fred lied, placing one hand over where his heart would be and the other hand raised in the air. "I swear on my life," the ghost joked, smiling ear to ear at his own pun. "See you around, Beantann!"

"Same to you, Weasley!"

Five minutes later, Klein was standing amid a group of other fourth year Gryffindors that were crowded around a table in one of the greenhouses, listening to Professor Longbottom lecture about the herbivicus charm.

"The herbivicus charm is commonly used to rapidly increase the growth rate of plants," he began, placing different potted plants in front of each student. "The wand movements are simple; just clearly say 'herbivicus' as you trace out the shape of a three-pronged leaf with pointy edges. Watch as I do so." With his wand pointed at a potted Dittany bush, the professor exclaimed, "Herbivicus!"

In a matter of seconds, the size of the bush had doubled and the growing roots had shattered the bottom of the pot, the sound making a few of the students jump back from the table.

"See?" Professor Longbottom grinned. "It's very simple, now I want you all to practice it."

Klein's second lesson had ended, as well as the break in between his second and third classes, and was making his way towards the dungeons for his Potions lesson. As he entered the classroom, he spotted a pair of familiar blue eyes and a blonde fringe, and he made his way over to the student excitedly. "Leo!"

Leo looked up from his book bag, and smiled as he recognized the Irish teenager. "Hey, Klein!"

"I completely forgot that Slytherins and Gryffindors share a potions class," Klein confessed, sitting down in the chair next to Leo and setting his book bag on the shared desk space.

"To be quite honest, I never even knew that our houses shared a Potions class," Leo shrugged.

"That's 'cause you're new," the red-head teased.

"Alright, students settle down. Let's cease the chatter, please." A slender, tall, dark skinned man dressed in black robes stepped out of his office. "Welcome to fourth year Potions class. In case you don't quite remember who I am, or have never met me, I am Professor Zabini. As well as being the Potions instructor, I am the Head of Slytherin." The professor strode towards the chalkboard, took out his wand from his robes' pocket, and flicked it. Words magically started appearing across the board as he continued, "Now, to measure how well this class can follow directions, we will be brewing a wit-sharpening potion today." His gaze fell over the class, as he turned away from the board. "The potion is relatively easy to make, yet somehow whenever I have a class brew it, the majority of the class messes up because they do not read the instructions. So I ask you all nicely to please read the instructions that I have written on the board behind me." Professor Zabini flicked his wand again, and a few more words appeared on the board. "The ingredients you need are now listed beneath the instructions. You will find what you need in the cabinets on your left-hand side. You may now begin."

"Okay," Leo muttered, his eyes flitting over the board. "Ginger root, armadillo bile, and scarab beetles."

"I'll go get those," Klein offered, standing up from his seat.

"That's be great, thanks,"Leo replied, glancing at Klein with a smile before looking back at the board.

As soon as Klein returned with what was needed, the two friends got straight to work on each of their potions and helping each other out when they needed it.

"You should probably stop adding armadillo bile," Leo, glancing at Klein's cauldron. "The potions is supposed to be purple, so it's fine as it is."

"Shit, really?" Klein yelped, quickly looking down at his potion.

"Yep," Leo affirmed, nodding towards the board. "It says 'Mix armadillo bile until the potion is purple.'"

Klein looked up to the board, and Leo giggled as his expression morphed into one of frustration. "How did I overlook that?" Klein groaned.

"No idea, but at least you have me to help fix your mistakes before they even happen," the blonde boy joked. 

"Thanks," Klein grinned. "But you better watch it. At some point you're gonna mess up and I'll be the one fixing it, so don't get too ahead of yourself!"

Just as Professor Zabini had predicted, quite a few of the students had managed to brew their potions incorrectly. "Though quite a few of you still failed at brewing your potions, I do have to congratulate you on being the class with the least amount of screw-ups that I've had. So, on that note, I believe those who would be receiving zeros will be ecstatic to hear that I have decided to remove this potion from my grade book."

A large cheer erupted from quite a few of the students, and the professor rolled his eyes while raising a hand for silence. "You didn't let me finish. Those who did brew the wit-sharpening potion correctly will be earning two points per person for their house." Needless to say, the cheer that came from the class was much quieter this time, and Professor Zabini smirked slightly. "Eight students from Slytherin and seven from Gryffindor have made potions that are sufficient. So I do believe, if I've counted correctly, that comes to a total of 16 points to Slytherin and 14 points to Gryffindor."

There was absolute silence from the Gryffindors, save for Klein, who was high-fiving Leo on their good work. The Slytherins however, were on the verge of throwing an on-the-spot party, some jeering in the Gryffindors' faces.

"Settle down," the professor barked at the Slytherin students. "I will not permit my students to behave like heathens towards other houses. As much as I love giving my house points, I will just as easily take them away for bad behavior." A low grumble emitted from the Slytherin students as they sat back down in their seats. "Thank you. Continuing on, because it's your first day of school, I've decided that you will not have homework tonight. I believe that everything that was in my lesson plans for today has been covered, so you may pack up your things and converse with others until class is dismissed."

Professor Zabini strode up to Leo's and Klein's desk, and addressed the two. "Good afternoon to the two of you. Klein Beantann, I know who you are, of course. And Leo Avery, isn't it?"

Leo nodded, smiling nervously. "Yeah, that'd be me."

"Unfortunately I was not able to meet you yesterday evening. As I said before, I am Professor Zabini, and I'm the head of your house, Slytherin."

"It's nice to meet you, sir," the blonde boy answered politely.

"Since you're new to the school, and I am your Head of House, I'll try to help you with anything you need. Just stop by my office if you do," Professor Zabini assured.

"Thank you, that means a lot," Leo confessed.

The professor nodded, and then walked back to the desk at the front of the classroom, shuffling through different pieces of parchment.

"So your Head of House has a soft spot for you? That could be useful," Klein informed him, packing up his book bag.

"I'm not gonna take advantage of having a teacher help me," Leo argued. "That's wrong to do."

"I figured," Klein chuckled. "You look like the goody two-shoes type." 

"I am not the goody two-shoes type!"

"Yeah yeah, and your not American either, I presume?"

"You're an ass!"

"I might be an ass, but I'm a fine piece of ass."

"Please. Stop. talking."

Klein snickered.

As the two fourth years walked down to the Great Hall for lunch, they ran into Darius, Trent, Marcus, and Bram.

"Oi!" Klein yelled, waving at the small group from across the hall. "Get your asses over here!"

"Wow, rude," Marcus scoffed jokingly, softly punching Klein in the arm.

"That's 'fine piece of ass,' to you," Trent sassed.

"So that's where you learned it from," Leo groaned, rubbing his eyes with his hand.

"I'm not even gonna ask," Darius responded, looking between the two fourth years.

Bram just shrugged at the scene unfolding before him. "Do you think we can wrap this up?" He sighed. "I would like to see my girlfriend, please."

"Ewww, heterosexual relationships," Marcus exclaimed.

"Shut up, Marcus," Bram threatened.

Marcus snickered.

When they arrived at the Great Hall, Bram pointed to the Ravenclaw table. "There's Roseline, and her friend Ana."

Leo's gaze followed the direction in which Bram had directed, and sure enough, he immediately saw the shock of bright blue, wavy hair that the sixth year had mentioned before. The girl was beautiful, no doubt. She had porcelain skin and bright green eyes. Sitting across from her was a petite Hufflepuff girl who was just as pretty with her short brunette hair and square shaped glasses.

As they neared the table, though, the group stopped in confusion as they heard the conversation that was taking place between the two.

"The Spanish Flamescale would obviously be better!" Roseline shouted.

"But the German Steelclaw sounds much more superior!" Ana seethed, looking like she was ready to throw something at the metamorphmagus.

"But the Spanish Flamescale can literally set itself, inside and out, on fire!" Roseline argued, slamming her fist down on the table.

"That's nice and all, but the German Steelclaw can cut through any substance, no matter how solid!"

"What are you even arguing about?" Marcus interrupted, asking the question the entire group had been thinking.

"Dragons," Roseline hissed, refusing to break the stare-down between her and Ana.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Klein coughed, "but my mum is a magizoologist, she works with dragons quite a bit, and I don't think I've ever heard her mention those species?"

"That's because they're myths," Ana explained. "But we were arguing about which would be better, hypothetically speaking, if they did exist."

"Rose has my vote," Bram chimed in, sitting down next to his girlfriend. "Anything that can set itself completely on fire without harming itself is number one in my books."

"THANK YOU!!" Roseline roared. "Someone actually agrees with me!"

"I think," Leo proposed slowly, "that this argument is pointless. They're not real, and either way each would have its strengths and weaknesses. So neither one would really be better than the other." He sat down and poured himself a glass of pumpkin juice, taking a sip. "So it'd probably be better if you stopped arguing now before the topic stretches into something more than just mythical dragons."

The two fourth year girls stared at Leo, then back at each other, before shrugging and grabbing a sandwiches off of a platter.

"Teach me your ways, oh Great and Powerful One," Trent joked as he sat down by Bram.

"What? Solving arguments?" Leo asked, puzzled.

"Yeah, that was amazing. Usually they argue for hours about silly topics-"

Both Roseline and Ana threw olives at the poor teen.

"Shut your face!" Roseline shrieked, another olive in her hand and ready to throw.

"I'm sorry, mother, don't hurt me!" Trent cried, cowering below the .

"Damn right I'm your mother," the blue haired girl grumbled. "Don't fuckin' talk shit about your mum or I'll fuckin' throw olives at your bitch ass."

"Babe, calm down," Bram chuckled, only to have lettuce shoved into his mouth.

"No," Roseline pouted. "I'm mad, I don't have to listen to you! You're not my dad."

Bram's face screwed up, and he spit out the lettuce. "Is this what dick tastes like?" he coughed, quickly chugging down a glass of water.

"Yes," Marcus deadpanned.

Roseline and Ana almost choked on their sandwiches, and Klein had to thump Leo on his back while he coughed up pumpkin juice from his lungs.

"I've said it once today, and I will say it again," Darius sighed. "I'm not even gonna ask."

Marcus chuckled and gestured to Klein and Leo. "I bet you can ask Leo that question and he'll be able to answer it for you."

"And-cough-why would-cough-that be?" Leo asked.

"Oh, sorry, I thought you two were in a sexual relationship. My bad," the Slytherin fifth year teased.

"What's going on?" two voices ask in unison from behind Marcus. Klein glances in that direction and beams. "Hey Drake, Sutton. We're just planning Marcus' death. Care to join?"

"Honey," Marcus sassed, "I'm too fabulous to die."

Drake raised an eyebrow as he sat down among the group. "And why are we planning said murder?"

"Because Marcus ships Leo and Klein, which I can totally see happening at some point," Trent interjected.

"You asshole!" Klein glared. "You're supposed to defend me dammit!"

"I can see it too, actually," Sutton chimed in.

A chorus of agreements filled the table, and Leo's face turned bright red with embarrassment. "I'm not going to ask why you all think that," Leo mumbled, "but it's not going to happen." He then grabbed a sandwich off the platter, and left, with Klein hot on his heels and sending dirty looks to the table over his shoulder every few seconds.

"I haven't even known Leo for ten minutes, and I can already tell they're gonna end up together," Roseline announced after they had disappeared through the giant wooden doors.

"I definitely ship it," Ana added.

"I think we all do," Drake chuckled.


	5. Bruises and Blackouts

It was nearing October, and Leo was well settled in. Klein had been easily crowned his best friend, and they often worked together on homework or just chatted while sat underneath a tree by the Black Lake. "What do you have written down so far for Potions homework?" he called to Klein, his gaze fixated on a piece of empty parchment and a quill in his hand.

"You mean the one about Mimbulus Mimbletonia and how it cures shyness?" Klein inquired, his own quill scratching away.

"That'd be the one, yeah."

Klein looked up and smirked. "Other than you need it desperately, nothing so far."

Leo glared daggers at Klein while the red-head laughed loudly.

Eventually, with a little bit of research from their Potions textbooks, both had finished their essays and were stretched out on their backs in the sunlight, the early autumn breeze gently tussling their hair. Klein turned his head to gaze at Leo and questioned, "Have you ever thought about what you want to work as?"

Leo sat up and stared at Klein, confused. "Can you elaborate?" he replied slowly.

"You know," Klein explained, his eyes flicking between the sky and the Slytherin boy. "What kind of job do you want when we get out of Hogwarts?"

Leo fell back onto his back and pondered over the question before answering, "I don't know. Music has always been my thing, so maybe something with that? Or the wizarding world's equivalent of the military?"

"That'd probably be something to do with the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry." Klein paused for a second, then asked, "So you wanna be like your dad?"

"Yeah, he's the most amazing person in my life, save for my mother," Leo smiled softly. "Between the two, I have enough love to share that every single person on this planet would never feel neglected again, as well as enough hand-to-hand combat training to kick anyone's ass if they fucked with someone I cared for."

"Quite the combo you got going there, mate!" the Irish boy joked. "But seriously, that's awesome that you want to be like your dad. He sounds pretty cool."

"He is," Leo affirmed. "What do you want to do, though? You have any plans or...?"

"Quidditch," Klein answered almost immediately. "I don't care if I'm on a team, or working in the Quidditch League Headquarters at the Ministry. I just really want something that has to do with quidditch."

"Wow," Leo chuckled. "You're very dedicated."

"Yep," the red-head yawned, stretching his arms over his head, and closing his eyes. "You mentioned something about music? I'm guessing you play an instrument or something?"

"Yep, quite a few actually. I can sing a little bit too, but I don't think I'm too good, so I don't sing very often," the blonde confessed.

"Alright, that's fair. Care to list off some of instruments you can play?"

"Piano, guitar, violin, cello, and drums," Leo replied thoughtfully.

"Damn."

"I started at a young age, so I can play all of them pretty well," he added. "I would have brought my acoustic guitar with me to Hogwarts, but my mom insisted that it would just be a nuisance to carry on the train." He paused. "Now I wish I hadn't have listened."

"Ah well, if you go home for Christmas break, you can always bring it back then," Klein suggested.

Leo shrugged, and then nodded. "Sounds good to me."

Thirty minutes later, after they both had taken a decent nap on the lawn, they headed back inside for dinner. They chatted at they walked, not really paying very much attention to who or what was around them. This proved to be not a very good idea.

Leo bumped his shoulder into a seventh year Gryffindor boy, who was passing by with a rather large group of, what the American presumed to be, all of his friends. He instantly got pushed back, stumbling into Klein and almost falling to the floor.

"Watch it!" the boy snarled, a heavy Welsh accent falling from his lips.

Klein immediately put himself between the two, a growl forming in the back of his throat. "Fuck off," he warned, pulling his wand from his pocket.

"You're seriously gonna defend the fuckin' snake?" the seventh year sneered, pulling out his wand from his robes as well. His group had gathered in a circle around the two. "Thought a Gryffindor would be better than that!"

"He's not a snake, he's my friend!" Klein defended, taking a step towards the boy, and raising his wand.

"Klein," the small Slytherin boy pleaded, "Please just let it slide, it's--"

Without having said a word, a bright white light erupted from the seventh year's wand, and knocked Klein on his back.

The fourth year Gryffindor's hands immediately flew up to his right eye, which had begun to swell and was turning a deep shade of purple, veins pulsing grotesquely.

Leo's eyes flicked from Klein to the older Gryffindor, who was smirking. A few of the other students around him clapped. "So how 'bout it, snake?" the boy jeered. "Wanna try me as well, or are you too much of a fucking pussy?" The guy's friends laughed, and he turned around to high-five a few of them.

Something in Leo snapped. Abandoning all magical forms of combat, he rushed the 7th year, yanked him around, and swung as hard as he could, hitting the boy square in the jaw with a right hook. The boy crumpled to the floor, unmoving and moaning quietly.

Absolute silence followed, with only the two boys' groans of pain and Leo's ragged breathing to be heard. Leo was livid. He wanted to tear every single one of the people who stood there limb from limb for hurting his best friend. Anger boiling over once more, he lunged towards the student standing closest to him.

Only to be stopped by a strong pair of arms wrapped around him, keeping him in place. It was Klein. "You've done enough," the boy hissed. "I think they've learned their lesson."

"But-" Leo struggled, trying his best to break free.

"It's okay," the red-head student soothed, slowly walking them both backwards and away from the spooked group of seventh years. Klein let him go for the most part as they entered a different hallway, but still kept a firm grip on the blonde boy's wrist, his other hand back on his swollen eye.

"I'm gonna get in trouble," Leo muttered, refusing to look anywhere else but the floor.

"You won't," Klein assured, leading them both towards the infirmary. "I doubt he or them will tell anyone what happened because they'd been on the offensive side. They'd be the ones getting in trouble."

"But I kind of knocked him out," the smaller boy argued weakly.

"You were protecting me, so the professors wouldn't count it as anything. Trust me, you'll be fine," Klein finished, leaving no more room for arguments.

Fifteen minutes later, both boys were leaving the infirmary with the knowledge of the spell that hit Klein had been a stinging jinx, and the swelling in Klein's eye having been decreased significantly. Madam Pomfrey had been very skeptical about Leo's on-the-spot lie about how he had been the one to jinx Klein, but she let it slide, much to the boy's relief.

"Thank you for defending me," Klein murmured as they walked down a deserted corridor, heading to the Great Hall.

"Don't mention it," Leo replied quietly, glancing at Klein and smiling softly before his eyes were focused on the floor yet again, his arms crossed tightly.

They stopped as they reached the giant doors of the Great Hall, and Klein grasped Leo's shoulder. "Seriously, I appreciate it." The red-head paused, looking down at the floor and smiling, before continuing. "You weren't kidding when you said you could kick ass," Klein chuckled. "Glad to know you care so much. It means a lot." He let go of Leo, before pushing open the door to the Great Hall and making his way to the Gryffindor table.

Leo stood there for a second, trying to process everything his friend had said, then made his way slowly to the Slytherin table. Drake signaled to him to come over, and Leo noticed that he, Marcus, and Bram had saved him a spot. "How thoughtful," Leo murmured, a slight grin forming on his face.

"Where the hell were you?" Marcus demanded as soon as the American had sat down. "We overheard a couple of seventh year Gryffindors coming into the Great Hall, talking about something to do with you."

Leo groaned. "Of course they did," he spat.

"Seriously, what happened?" Bram questioned curiously.

"Well," Leo hesitated, fidgeting with his hands, and hissed when he realized that he had busted a few of his knuckles.

Marcus heard the noise, and grabbed Leo's hand, staring at it. He opened his mouth to say something, but Drake beat him to it.

"Who's ass do I have to kick?" the third year asked in a deadly calm tone.

"I'll gladly help you," Marcus added, his mouth set in a straight line.

"If I have to rip someone apart, I'll do it," Bram growled.

This grabbed the attention of a good portion of the Slytherin table, and many sets of eyes were focused on the conversation. Leo yanked his hand out of Marcus' grasp, and hissed, "Be quiet! It's nothing, so don't worry about it!"

"Fine," Marcus shrugged. "We'll ask Klein then. Don't act like we didn't see the big-ass bruise and swelling on his eye when he walked in."

Leo scoffed. At this point, he didn't care. Not saying another word, he grabbed two chicken salad sandwiches, left the table, and went to sit down on the stairs outside the Great Hall.

He finished eating right as dinner ended, the chatter of a thousand students filling the hall as the giant doors opened. He was immediately dragged down the stairs by Marcus and Bram, being forced to stop in front of all of his friends, Klein met the same fate as him, and was pushed to stand right next to Leo.

"What happened to your eye?" Trent asked worriedly, gesturing to Klein.

"Might I add that Leo has fucked up his knuckles as well?" Marcus chimed in.

Leo opened his mouth to argue, but Klein laid a hand on his shoulder, and gave him a warning look to be quiet. Leo grumbled, but kept his mouth shut.

"We're just worried about you two," Darius explained. "You're our friends; we don't want you hurt."

"I'll stab a bitch," Roseline interjected. "You're both chill as fuck. That makes you friends, and I'll fucking fight anyone who messes with my friends."

Klein laughed softly and shook his head. "I don't think there's a need to fight anyone. At least not now, I believe."

"You have a swollen eye," Bram argued. "Obviously someone wanted to pick a fight, and now we're gonna give it to them!"

Marcus nodded. "You fuck with one of us, you fuck with all of us."

"I would like to add," Sutton interjected, "that me and Darius don't wanna fight."

Darius nodded. "Fighting is definitely not on my agenda. I just want to see if I can help fix whatever problem started."

"But force is going to need to be taken!" Bram snapped. "Words aren't gonna do shit!"

"There's no reason to argue over this!" Klein shouted. "If you'd just listen to me, that'd be fantastic!" The group quieted down, and Klein breathed out slowly. "Thank you," he sighed, adjusting the bandanna that was tied around his forehead. "As I was saying, it's been handled."

"Who the fuck handled it thou-" Marcus blurted.

"I wasn't finished!" Klein barked. "Leo knocked the fucker out! There! That's the main point!"

The sudden silence was deafening, and Leo fought the urge to run.

"Leo handled it?" Trent questioned, confusion etched in his face.

"But he's tiny," Marcus added. "I'm sorry, but there's no way he could have done anything to anyone."

"Watch your damn mouth," Leo snarled.

Klein grabbed the boy's arm before he could do anything. "Cool it," he hissed into Leo's ear. "I know you've been pissed since that dumbass tried to start shit, but taking it out on your friends is something you're gonna regret. You can deny that all you want, but you know it's true."

Reluctantly, Leo relaxed, and Klein slowly released his grip on the blonde boy.

"I think he'd be capable of some damage," Drake commented. "He's built a lot like me and I'm capable of beating my father in mock fights, and he doesn't go easy on me."

"I'm sorry but I just can't see it happening," Marcus shrugged. "You're both really small. Drake, you're a little bit bigger, but the only reason that I can see you being able to do any kind of damage is when you're in your beast form."

"Are you saying that small people can't do damage?" Ana seethed, clenching and unclenching her fists. "Because I will gladly prove you wrong!"

Trent shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. "I wouldn't wanna test Ana, if I were you, Marcus," he warned. "I've been on the receiving end of her rage, and it's like she goes from 'small perfect child' to 'tiny terror with teeth' in half a second."

"Point proven!" Leo argued. "If she's capable of fucking shit up while being even shorter than me, then I can fuck shit up, too!"

Klein groaned loudly, dragging his hands over his face in exasperation. "Will you all just fucking stop?"

Leo winced at the angry tone and quickly shoved his hands in his pockets, looking at the floor with guilt in his eyes. "Sorry," he murmured. A chorus of apologies rang from the group as well.

"Look," Klein addressed. "I know you might not believe me, but he took down a seventh year with a single punch. If you want proof, go to the infirmary, 'cause I bet the bastard is there right now."

"I believe you," Drake shrugged.

"So do I," Ana and Roseline chorused.

"If Rose believes you, then so do I," Bram agreed. "I trust her judgement more than mine, 'cause she's usually right."

"I can see Leo being capable of it," Darius reasoned. "Yeah, he's small and sweet, but once again, so is Ana, and she's vicious when she wants to be. Besides, being small has its advantages in a fight."

Trent nodded his head quickly at the statement. "Fuck, she had me on the ground in two seconds," he explained. "She literally climbed up my side and onto my back, and yanked one of my legs out from under me."

Everyone in the group laughed at Trent's memory, and Leo smiled, feeling himself relaxing ever so slowly.

Sutton, who had been for the most part watching the scene unfold, finally chimed in, "So are we all good now? No more arguing? Because arguments aren't really my thing."

Marcus sighed, giving in. "I guess I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and trust what you're saying. I guess you guys never even got to explain what happened, so why don't you start with that."

Klein and Leo glanced at each other, before Leo started recalling the events that had happened. "We had been on the lawn and had just gotten inside. We weren't really paying too much attention to what was going on around us, and I ended up bumping this seventh year Gryffindor dude in the shoulder when he was passing by with his friends."

"You got attacked by a member of our own house?!" Sutton asked Klein, shocked. The red-head nodded, and the pale fifth year shook his head. "The goddamn nerve of some people, holy shit."

"So anyways," Leo continued, "I'm guessing he must have something against Slytherins-"

"Most of the students that aren't in Slytherin do," Marcus confessed. "A lot of Slytherins turned into Death Eaters when the Wizarding Wars were taking place. The superstition is still in place, that we're all evil snobs and only do things if we get a hefty benefit from it."

"That explains a lot," the blonde boy muttered. "But he called me a snake. Klein got pissed at the guy, and told him to fuck off. I tried to get Klein to let it slide 'cause I originally didn't wanna start a fight or anything, but the guy hit Klein with a stinging jinx on his eye which is why his eye is so swollen."

"So where does you KO-ing the asshole come into play?" Bram questioned. "You obviously didn't want to fight, so what happened?"

Klein took over before Leo could answer. "I have no idea but I was on the floor, and I had glanced at Leo and he looked so fucking mad," he started excitedly. "The guy had turned around and was high-fiving a few of his friends when Leo, who didn't even bother grabbing his wand from his pocket, just took off towards him, grabbed him by the back of his robes, turned him around and hit the bitch right in the jaw. He collapsed to the ground like a fucking doll, it was so fucking cool!"

Leo blushed, and stammered, "Don't make it sound like that. It wasn't that awesome. I don't--"

"Fuck yeah, it was!" Klein argued. "Then he tried to attack a few of the others, but I had gotten up, so I grabbed him before he did anything too bad."

"Damn, you should have let him do his thing," Bram replied. "That could have turned into a Hogwarts legend. They would be talking about it for years; 'The Superhuman Fourth Year.'"

"It's just basic military hand-to-hand combat training that my dad taught me," Leo argued. "Anyone could do it, if they knew how."

"You're in a magical school, though," Darius pointed out. "It's not as likely that you'll find anyone here that would know that. Jinxes and hexes are the usual thing most of the time, not physical fighting with punches and kicks."

"Funny that you mention that," a voice called from the stairs.

The entire group turned to see about eight seventh year Gryffindor boys making their way down the steps. "I do believe you have a bit of explaining to do as to why our friend is in the infirmary," a heavy built boy with dark colored hair and brown eyes demanded.

Leo tensed, and took a few steps backward. Before he could say anything, a ring had formed around him, consisting of Bram, Trent, Marcus, Drake, Ana, and Roseline, with Klein taking his place directly in front of him like earlier that very evening. Darius and Sutton quickly stepped off to the far side of the hall, watching the scene nervously.

"He was the one that started it! We didn't want a fight!" Klein shouted.

"See, now that's not what he told us," the dark haired boy insisted, a devilish smirk on his face.

"Then your 'friend' is a scumbag fucking liar," Drake countered.

"So another snake is trying to pick a fight," the seventh year drawled. "Fucking pests."

"You better shut your happy ass up before I throw you down into hell, and you better hope you reach Satan before I reach you!" Roseline screeched. "My boyfriend is a Slytherin!"

Bram waved slightly. "That'd be me. Fuck you, by the way. You're a piece of shit. You and all of your friends are."

Marcus shrugged. "I like snakes. Quite a few are cute, yet deadly, and I think that's the appeal of them."

The group of seventh year boys all scoffed at the remark. "Shut up, faggot!" one of them called.

Ana yanked her wand out of her pocket and blindly sent a hex into the group, screeching, "YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!" A chubby boy with mousy brown hair fell fell to the floor as boils started erupting all over his face and hands.

In a matter of seconds, the corridor was filled with shouts and bright bursts of light as spells were shot across at the opposing sides, and it appeared that the seventh year group had somehow doubled. Klein was still stood in front of Leo, protecting them both with shield charms, and deflecting everything that the Gryffindor seventh years sent their way. "Not the way I was expecting this year to go, but the more fun the better!" Klein whooped, sending an impediment curse at the group, and laughed as one of the boys collapsed to the floor like a statue.

"This is definitely not how I wanted my fourth year to go!" Leo shouted, refreshing the shield charm as a flash of blue light bounced off of it and rebounded into the group of Gryffindor boys.

Leo looked around for the first time, and fully realized exactly how much chaos was happening. Bram had taken on two of the Gryffindors, and was close-range dueling. Roseline wasn't too far away and had jammed her elbow into one of the boy's noses, and had presumably broken it, judging by the amount of blood pouring out of his nostrils. Sutton and Darius were out of sight, and Leo figured that they had probably taken cover behind a set of statues. Drake, just like him earlier that day, had given up completely on magical dueling. Having taken his beast form, he was seen terrorizing three different boys all at once by clawing at them and pecking at their eyes. Trent, who Leo had judged to not be the fighting type, had three other Gryffindor boys cornered and cowering at his feet. Leo glanced over towards Marcus next, and witnessed him hex a boy with a bat bogies curse, and the blonde giggled as he watched as boogers started flying out of the seventh year boy's nose and attack his face.

And then there was Ana. Trent wasn't lying when he said she was a terror. The petite Hufflepuff girl had decided to take on five Gryffindors all at once, and she was definitely winning. Anger and hatred was etched all over her face, and her face twisted in morbid satisfaction as one by one they each gave in to defeat.

Not paying attention had definitely been a mistake on Leo's part. Suddenly he was grabbed from behind and forced into a choke-hold, a wand held to his throat. He gasped for air as he was dragged off his feet and left dangling in the air. "Klein-" The Slytherin boy choked, scrabbling desperately at whoever's arm it was that had the death grip on him.

The red-head turned around and his nostrils flared, hatred burning in his eyes. The fighting ceased as the three boys grabbed the attention of everyone in the hall. "Let him go," Klein warned, dangerously calm.

Leo more felt, rather than heard, the chuckle that escaped from the seventh year's mouth. "Why? He's getting what he asked for." Leo quickly judged the voice to be the boy that had first addressed them from the stairs.

"Because it was me who started it, not him," Klein growled, taking a step forward.

The arm around Leo's neck tightened, and his he gasped for air as his vision swam. "What if I don't want to?" Leo tried his best to focus and zeroed in on Klein's face. He was scared for the blonde boy, Leo could tell.

Klein quickly raised his wand toward the other boy's head and roared, "YOU FUCKING LET HIM GO!!!"

The boy only snickered and tightened his grip even more. Leo was no longer able to breathe, and his vision was quickly fading, his grasp on the seventh year's arm progressively getting weaker.

Suddenly a voice yelled out to them all. Leo couldn't tell who it was but it sounded oddly familiar. Suddenly he was dropped, and he hit the floor, his head banging against the tile and making his head swim even more. He couldn't think no matter how hard he tried, and the faces hovering over him never came into focus. One of them was Klein, he could tell by the red hair, but everything else was fuzzy. Even the voices made no sense, though he could tell they were shouting at him frantically. Leo felt exhausted. His head was pounding and he wanted nothing more than to succumb to the sleep that was beckoning to him. He felt a hand grasp his tightly as he silently slipped into a dark, dreamless abyss.


	6. Little Talks (mini-chapter)

Leo's head felt like it was being hit with a hammer. He didn't know where he'd been brought, and quite frankly he couldn't have cared less, but he silently thanked that whoever did it had put him in a comfortable bed with warm sheets. He slowly opened his eyes, and found that he was in the infirmary, a single candle on the bedside table illuminating the room with flickering light.

A slight snore scared the Slytherin teen, making him flinch. Turning over on his other side, he saw a familiar looking boy in a white, long-sleeved shirt and gray sweatpants with a mop of tussled red hair sitting in a chair and leaning onto the bed with his head buried in his arms, a maroon bandanna wrapped around his wrist.

Leo reached out and shook the boy gently, and the red-read shifted a little, then lifted his head to rest his chin on the backs of his hands, blinking slowly. "Hey there," he whispered, smiling softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Hey Klein. I feel like shit, actually." Leo admitted quietly. "My head hurts like a bitch."

"That's not surprising," Klein acknowledged. "You hit the floor pretty hard. I was talking to you and trying to get you to focus, but you just stared as if you could see right through me and passed out a few seconds later."

"I felt like I was going to die," Leo confessed. "I couldn't breathe."

"I know, your face was turning purple."

Leo sighed. "What are you even doing here? Aren't you gonna get in trouble for being out of your common room after the school curfew?"

Klein scoffed jokingly. "I spent so much time sneaking down here to see you, only to get turned away. How rude!"

Leo giggled quietly. "Yeah. I'm so mean," he agreed jokingly. The small boy yawned, and closed his eyes. "I want you to tell me what happened when I fell. I heard voices but nothing was coming into focus."

Klein hummed, and Leo felt the Irish boy's fingers softly run through his fringe. "I'll tell you tomorrow. You're tired, and I don't want to keep you up," Klein whispered. He reached over with his other hand and grasped on to Leo's, his thumb tracing patterns on his skin.

Leo smiled softly at the action, and peeked at Klein through his eyelashes. The boy was laying back in his chair, his neck craned back, and his eyes closed. "That has to be uncomfortable," he whispered to the red-head, fully opening his eyes once more.

Klein tried his best to stifle a laugh. "Yeah, a little bit, but I'll be fine."

"No you're not. You're going to be stiff all over in the morning if you sleep there."

"What are you gonna suggest then? Me get in the bed with you?" Klein asked sarcastically.

Leo paused, then shrugged as best as one could when laying on their side. "I'm not against it," he explained. "I'm kind of cold, so the heat would be nice."

Klein sat there for a second and just stared, then sighed defeatedly, saying, "Scoot over then, I guess."

Leo moved himself to the other edge of the bed, and the fourth year Gryffindor crawled under the covers.

The awkward silence stretched for a few minutes as they laid back to back before Klein eventually turned over and pulled Leo closer him, draping his arm over the smaller boy's chest. "You said you were cold, so I'm keeping you warm," Klein explained quickly in a hushed voice as Leo felt a blush creeping up his neck and onto his cheeks.

"Thanks," Leo stammered, grasping Klein's arm gently. For the first time, Leo was truly able to feel how physically fit that Klein was, and Leo buried his face in a pillow as he felt the blush on his face turn darker. Klein's head was right behind his, and he could both hear and feel the teenage boy's breath ghost over his ear. The rhythmic sound was calming, and Leo was reminded of the beaches he used to visit in his home town when he was little.

Old memories played like movies behind his eyelids as he recalled the wet sand sticking to his toes and the foamy waves licking his heels as he ran from them, playing a game that he and his siblings had made up. They had collected seashells, and Leo had given the pink and white conch shell he found to his sister Emily, who was only a toddler at the time.

Memories dissolved into dreams, and suddenly it was him and Klein on the beach wearing t-shirts and jeans rolled up to the knees, laughing and messing around with each other. Leo ran from Klein, and Klein chased after, his fist closing around the fabric of Leo's shirt and dragging him to the ground as he slipped on sand.

The Irish teenager landed on top of the Slytherin and they both laughed at the predicament, Klein's arms holding himself up just enough to where he didn't crush the smaller boy, but not enough for Leo to wriggle away. Their eyes met briefly before they each looked away, their laughter dying away.

Leo felt Klein's hand brush against his jaw and tilt his face upwards, worlds of grey and blue meeting orbs colored with cinnamon, honey, and whiskey. Slowly, Klein closed the gap between them.

Leo woke with a start, eyes snapping open and gasping slightly. Sitting up, he realized that the other side of the small bed was empty, but still slightly warm. Klein had left only a little while ago.

Leo ran a hand through his hair. He had--he'd just--

"I dreamed about kissing my best friend," he whispered. Leo felt his face heat up and he immediately slouched back down onto the bed, and yanking a pillow over his face. One thought ran through his head, over, and over, and over.

"I'm fucked."


	7. In Denial

Madam Pomfrey had insisted that he stay for the day, but he didn't want anyone to question why he was gone, so Leo left the infirmary and headed down breakfast, a dull ache still in the back of his skull and still having difficulty making his eyes focus. He tried his best to push the dream from his mind, but it just wouldn't disappear. Shaking his head, he made his way down the corridor and through the doors of the Great Hall. Spotting his friends at the Slytherin table, he made his way over.

As soon as he sat down, he was bombarded by questions from Bram, Drake, and Marcus, making his head spin.

"Are you okay?"

"Were you hurt badly?"

"Do you remember anything?"

"Why are you out of bed?"

"Are you sure you don't want us to collect your homework for the day, and then bring it to you?"

Leo held up a hand. "Stop, stop!" he groaned, rubbing his eyes with the other. "One at a time, my head is throbbing."

"So, you're not fine," Bram concluded, standing up to drag Leo back to the infirmary. "Let's go."

"Sit down," Leo snapped. "I'm not going back to the damn infirmary."

"Wow, okay then. Jeez," Marcus muttered. "We just want you to be okay goddamn."

"We don't want to seem like overprotective parents, but we really do want to help," Drake added sympathetically.

Leo sighed heavily, and buried his face in his arms on the table, huffing out a muffled, "Sorry." He had no appetite at all, and ended up sleeping through the rest of breakfast before being shaken awake by Drake.

Leo's first two classes of the day, Herbology and Defense Against the Dark Arts, went just about the same as breakfast had gone. He only heard tiny snippets of Professor Longbottom's lecture about gillyweed as he stood around the central table in the greenhouse, staring downwards with a blank expression in his face and his hands in his pockets. Defense Against the Dark Arts didn't turn out any better; he fell asleep while he was supposed to be reading about dugbogs, though, fortunately, he wasn't caught.

Slowly, he ambled down to lunch, the dream on his mind once again. He didn't have a crush on Klein, Leo thought to himself. They were just friends. Besides, weird dreams can happen, right? Adjusting the strap of his book bag on his shoulder, he continued on to the Great Hall.

When he stepped through the doors, he saw all of this friends chatting away at the Hufflepuff table. Klein noticed him first, and he ran over to the smaller boy, taking his bag from him. "What are you doing?" he asked slowly.

"Making sure you don't hurt yourself," Klein acknowledged.

Leo scoffed, then smiled. "I'm not made of glass, you know." Leo pointed out. "I'm fine."

"Yeah, sure. The glassy look in your eyes says something completely different," Klein argued, grabbing Leo's wrist and forcing the blonde to sit between himself and Trent, and right in front of a girl he hadn't met before.

She was wearing Hufflepuff robes, and looked about the same age as Marcus, Trent, and the rest of the fifth years. She had short, wavy brown hair with light purple streaks running through her side-swept bangs, and metal clips on her ears that were shaped like elf ears and had little sparkling jewels on them. Her eyes were brown, and, if you looked close enough, you could see minuscule flecks of violet floating in their chocolate colored universes like stars.

"Hi," she greeted, a small smile forming on her lips.

"Hey," Leo replied. "I don't think I've met you yet?" he asked slowly.

She shook her head, and answered, "You haven't. I'm Maz Cidermin."

"Leo Avery," the Slytherin boy informed.

At that moment, Klein leaned over to join the conversation. "She had been on the staircase when the fight broke out, and went to go get someone that could help."

Maz nodded, and added, "I ended up grabbing Professor Zabini from the main corridor on the second floor. He ran ahead of me, and when I got there he had broken up the fight."

"Yeah, Klein didn't you say you were going to explain what happened earlier?" Leo inquired, reaching over to grab for a bowl and spooning chicken noodle soup into it.

"Yeah, I was," Klein replied. "So Maz got Professor Zabini, and he was running down the stairs shouting that the fight needed to stop. Then you got dropped, and he and I ran over to you to see if you were okay, but you were completely out of it. Maz ran off again to get Madam Pomfrey, and Zabini demanded that we tell him what happened that caused the fight. The Gryffindors got into trouble for starting it, then he confiscated their wands and told them to all go to his room so he could have a chat with them about 'the consequences for kids who severely injure other students.' None of us have seen them at all today, actually."

"I thought I heard a somewhat familiar voice. I guess it was him," Leo murmured thoughtfully. "Anything else happen? Did you guys get into trouble?"

Klein shook his head. "Other than Madam Pomfrey coming to take you to the infirmary, no. And no trouble, either. He actually thanked us a lot for trying to help defend you, and said that we were amazing friends for doing it." Klein paused for a moment, before saying, "I'm honestly surprised we didn't get into trouble, because Ana cast the first curse."

"Speaking of which," Leo muttered, scanning the table for the small Hufflepuff girl, "I wanted to ask her why she did that." Spotting her two seats down, he shouted her name to grab her attention, and then yelled, "I wanted to ask you something!"

"What's up?" she asked quizzically.

"Why did you get so angry at the guy's choice of words?" Leo began. "I know it's not a very nice thing to say, but it's just a word, so I was kind of curious as to why it made you so mad?"

"What, you mean when that one idiot called Marcus that horrible name?"

Leo nodded. "Yeah, it just kind of intrigued me, that's all."

Ana shrugged. "I have a girlfriend who's a lesbian, and I'm bi. They've bullied us before and have called us that many times, so I don't take the use of that word on me or anyone I care about very kindly."

"Ah, okay. That explains a lot, then. What's her name?"

"Rachel Wood. You might know her, or at least heard of her, because she's in Slytherin and in our year."

Leo grinned, having a clue of who Rachel was. "Does she have bright pink hair, by any chance?"

Ana nodded and smiled. "Yep, that's her."

"She's taller than me and I hate it," Leo joked.

"That's because you're the shortest guy in the school," the Hufflepuff girl teased.

"Wow, rude!" Leo joked, faking a hurt expression.

"Speak of the devil, there's Rachel," Ana announced. "I'll see you later!" she chirped, before bounding over to the pink-haired girl, and hugging her.

"Their height difference is the cutest thing ever," Klein commented.

"Same with you and Leo," Marcus added from the other side of Trent, snickering.

The comment reminded him of his dream and, all too fast, the blonde boy had a vibrant red blush on his face.

"Aww, how cute," Marcus teased.

Klein over and punched the fifth year in the arm, glaring. "You're making him uncomfortable, stop."

Marcus rolled his eyes, but still smiled. "Fine, fine," he muttered, returning to his lunch.

"Sorry about him being like this about us," Klein muttered.

Leo just shook his head and hoped that it conveyed that there wasn't really any need to apologize, not trusting words to come out of his mouth in coherent sentences. He finished his lunch without saying another word.

The end of the day couldn't come soon enough for Leo, though he did admit to himself that he looked forward to double potions with his best friend. He stressed the word friend in his mind, still unable to wipe the dream from his memory. At least it's Friday, Leo thought to himself.

Potions was the only class Leo truly tried to stay awake for that day. Leo and Klein sat beside each other, like usual, though they didn't talk much. It wasn't an awkward silence, Leo thought. Klein would glance at him every now and then, almost as if he was making sure that the blonde boy was okay, and then he'd smile softly and go back to taking notes from his textbook.

Halfway through Potions, Leo eventually felt sleep catching up with him again. His head would lean down, and his eyes would involuntarily close, before he would realize what was happening and snap awake again. This happened about four times before Klein noticed what was going on with his friend.

"Hey, what's wrong?"Klein leaned over and whispered, concern in his eyes.

"I'm fine," Leo assured. "I'm just tired."

Klein eyed him skeptically. "Are you sure that's all?"

"Yes," Leo whispered, rolling his eyes. "I'm perfectly fine."

"So your head isn't hurting at all?"

"No." Leo knew he was lying; every once in a while he would feel a sharp pain in his skull right behind his ears, but he didn't think much about it, and he certainly didn't want Klein to worry about him.

Klein watched Leo for a few more seconds before looking back down at his textbook. "Alright," he murmured. "If something starts bothering you, please tell me."

Leo felt guilty, but he decided that it was for the best that Klein didn't know. I'd probably let something slip if he continued to interrogate me, the small teen thought to himself, and for the umpteenth time that day, the image of him kissing Klein filled his head. Goddammit, Leo inwardly groaned.

As class was ended, Professor Zabini strode over to the two fourth years' desks and asked them to stay behind for a few minutes. The boys glanced at each other, and they both started packing more slowly, waiting for the other students to leave.

"Thank you for staying," Professor Zabini acknowledged as soon as the last student left the classroom. "I believe you know why I've asked you to stay?"

"Does it have something to do with the fight last night?" Klein guessed.

The professor nodded, and turned to Leo. "Firstly, how are you feeling?" he asked the blonde boy.

"I feel fine." Leo had lied again. He was tired, and his head had started pounding once more when loud sound of chairs scraping as students got up to leave had started. All he wanted to do was fall into bed, and sleep for the entire weekend.

Professor Zabini stared at him for a few seconds, and then looked back to Klein with a slight frown on his face.

He knows, Leo thought, shifting nervously. He read right through my lie.

But if Professor Zabini did know the truth, he never said it. Instead, he questioned Klein more about the fight. "All I want to ask you is if you knew any of the boys that were involved on the other side of the fight," he started.

Klein shook his head. "No. I couldn't even give you names."

The professor nodded slowly. "Alright. I wanted to ask you because I don't want anything else happening. If you knew them, I feel like there'd be a larger chance that the fighting would continue. But that's just my guess," he concluded, smiling softly. "Thank you two for staying a little late, that's all I needed to ask."

Leo and Klein left the dungeons, and the red-headed Gryffindor immediately struck up a conversation about his quidditch practice that evening and the first quidditch match of the school year that was taking place tomorrow afternoon. "You should try out for the Slytherin team next year!" Klein bubbled excitedly. "I think you'd be really good at it!"

"I don't even really know how to ride a broom," Leo stammered. "I've never been too good at that, not to mention I've never even played a game of quidditch in my life."

Klein paused, then shrugged. "Guess I'll have to teach you then."

"What, what?!"

"I'm gonna teach you how to ride a broom and how to play quidditch. If not for the Slytherin team, then for a pastime so we can just hang out and have fun," Klein explained. "I think you'd really enjoy it."

Leo spluttered, trying to convince Klein that sports really weren't his forte, but Klein didn't want to hear it, so eventually the smaller boy gave up on trying to argue. "Fine," he sighed. "I'll let you teach me, I guess. But," he added," I'm not joining a team! I'll just play when you want to 'cause it makes you happy."

Klein smiled brightly, and slung an arm around Leo's shoulder. "Thanks, mate! Can't wait to find a time to teach you!"

Leo started to blush at the arrangement of his friend's arm, and pushed him off, disguising his embarrassment with a scoff. "I'm not gonna be any good, I hope you realize that."

Klein just laughed, and replied, "You won't be bad if I'm the one teaching you!"

"Yeah, yeah," Leo retorted.

Leo followed Klein to the quidditch pitch and sat down in the stands as Klein went to the locker rooms to put on his gear. He went to pull his homework assignments out of his bag so he could work on them, but remembered that he had slept through all of his classes, and groaned, slumping down in the bleachers.

"Something wrong?" a voice to his left asked.

Looking towards the sound, Leo saw Darius making his way through the bleachers and sitting down next to the fourth year.

"Yeah," Leo admitted, sitting up straight again. "I fell asleep in all of my classes and now I don't know what my homework is."

"Oh that sucks," Darius commented, watching the field as the Gryffindor quidditch team left the locker rooms.

"Tell me about it," Leo whined. "I'm fucked!"

The two sat in silence for a few minutes as they watched the team play. Well, Darius watched the team play and Leo watched Klein, and only Klein, as the red-head sat on his broom in front of the goals. Darius eventually broke their silence, and stated very clearly, "You like him."

Leo's eyes stopped following Klein, and widened. For about five seconds, the blonde boy sat there with his mouth hanging wide open, desperately searching for words, before stuttering out, "N-no I fucking don't!"

"That whole thing that you just did right there proves it," the fifth year pointed out.

"What?! What'd I do?!"

"You were watching him, and just him, and when I pointed out your very obvious crush, you were caught off guard and immediately insisted that you don't like him."

"That's 'cause I don't!" Leo argued defensively. "He's my best friend!"

"For the record, he likes you just as much," Darius added.

Leo was speechless. That couldn't possibly be true, could it? "You're lying," he finally managed to choke out.

"I'm really not."

"He'd never like me!" the blonde boy argued. "I'm just a friend. He met me a few days short of a month ago! Besides, he basically flirts with everyone he talks to, with all of the jokes and smiling-"

"Honey," Darius interjected, "He's gay. And he really only acts like that around you, by the way."

Leo could only stare at Darius.

"So do you believe me?" Darius asked.

Leo blinked, and shook his head. "Nope. You're lying. I don't like him, and he most certainly doesn't like me."

The Hufflepuff boy sighed. "Well, I tried."

They watched the rest of the practice in silence before gathering their things to go meet Klein in the field below.

"What'd you think?" the red-head called, running towards the two.

"You've gotten better at left-hand catches," Darius noted.

Klein nodded, his arms crossed. He turned to Leo and repeated the question.

Leo shrugged. "I don't really know anything about the sport, so I can't really say anything other than you look like you're doing a good job."

Klein grinned. "That's all I really need to hear, thank you." He patted Leo on the back, and added, "I've gotta go change, I'll be back in a few minutes."

After he has gotten out of earshot, Darius turned to Leo and stared at him skeptically.

"What?" Leo asked.

"Yeah, he definitely doesn't have a crush on you," he answered sarcastically.

"He doesn't! And I don't have a crush on him either!"

"Okay, whatever you say," Darius smirked, and started walking back to the castle.

Leo could say that Darius was lying all he wanted to, but Leo questioned a certain part of Darius' speech.

He can't be gay, Leo thought. He flirts with everyone. Maybe he's bi? Or pansexual, like me? The blonde boy shook his head to clear the thoughts. Now wasn't the time to be pondering weird things like that. So he stood, rocking back and forth on his heels, as he waited for his friend.

Klein reappeared a short time after, wearing a red and black checkered flannel with the sleeves rolled up, skinny jeans (Leo thought they were unlawfully tight on the Irish boy's legs, but he never said he didn't like the sight), and his bandanna was tied around his forehead as usual. He carried his white button-up shirt, sweater, and tie and one hand, and his school pants and shoes in the other, his bag slung over his shoulder. "I've gotta drop these off in my common room first, than we can head to dinner. Do you wanna come with me, or do you just wanna go ahead and go and I'll catch up with you?" Klein asked.

"I'll just go with you," the Slytherin decided.

"Alright, sounds like a plan, then," the red-head concluded. "Let's go."


	8. The Unexpected

The two boys, with Klein leading the way, travelled up a few sets of stairs, and into one of the towers, stopping in front of a portrait of a lady that was on the heavier side and was wearing a white gown. "Password," she demanded.

"Triumphos virtute," the red-head replied. Instantly, the portrait swung to the side to reveal a circular entrance that lead to a room full of gold and red. "Come on," Klein beckoned, clambering through.

"So what exactly did you say, because that wasn't english," Leo questioned, following Klein through the entrance and into the Gryffindor common room.

"It's Latin for 'bravery triumphs'," Klein stated. "Pretty stereotypical, huh?"

"For Gryffindors, definitely," Leo joked, following Klein up a set of spiraling stairs and into the boy's dorms. The blonde teen noted that it looked just about the same as the Slytherin dorms, except the room was circular and the curtains were red instead of green. In the center was a fireplace that had not yet been lit for the evening.

"Sorry for the mess in here. None of us are really that good at keeping things cleaned up," Klein joked, proving his point by throwing his stuff into a pile on a bed by the farthest window. "See what I'm saying?"

Leo couldn't help but laugh at the giant toothy grin on Klein's face. "Okay, we get it, you're accustomed to living in a pigsty," the Slytherin boy teased. 

Klein sputtered and awkwardly shuffled to kick his clothes that were on the floor under the bed. "I'm not that bad," he protested, fixing his bandanna absentmindedly. 

"I was kidding," Leo assured, elbowing Klein on the arm lightly. "I'm not that mean, I promise!"

"I don't know, there's a seventh year Gryffindor that would argue against that," Klein shot back, cocking an eyebrow and sticking his tongue between his teeth in smile.

"Wow, okay. That was rude," Leo argued, though he was smiling too. "He deserved it."

"Trust me, I think everyone in our group of friends knows that. Now let's go to dinner, I'm starving!"

Leo rolled his eyes as he followed the red-head back down the stairs. "You sat on a broom and occasionally reached your arm out to block a ball. That shouldn't be very tiring."

"You're only saying that 'cause you don't know how it feels," Klein argued. "Once I teach you, you'll realize how straining the game can be."

"On what? Your brain?" the blonde boy asked sarcastically.

"Actually yeah," the Irish boy confirmed. "You only have a few seconds to figure out a successful plan and then execute it without messing up. It can be stressful at times, especially if you're on the losing side. If you're just playing to have fun, though, and not for an actual match or anything like I do, then it's a lot of fun."

"Huh," Leo shrugged, stepping through the circular hole and pushing open the portrait door. "Never thought of it that way."

"I can't wait to teach you, though!" Klein bubbled excitedly. "It's my favorite thing to do, and I know a lot about quidditch, so by the time I'm done teaching you, you'll be as good as me!"

Leo chuckled, making his way down the stairs. "Can't wait to suck at left-hand catches, then."

Klein pushed the smaller boy's shoulder. "Shut up, I'm better than I was last year!"

"Glad I wasn't here last year then," Leo jested. The blonde boy had to stifle a giggle at the scowl on Klein's face.

"You really are mean," the red-head grumbled, stomping down the rest of the stairway after Leo.

They split ways and headed towards their house tables when they reached the Great Hall. Leo searched for his usual group and spotted Bram about halfway down the table sitting next to Drake, but Marcus wasn't there. 

"Where's Marcus?" he asked, sitting down in front of the two.

"I have no idea," Bram shrugged. "Probably asleep somewhere."

Drake shook his head. "No, I saw him on his way down from Professor Flitwick's class after third hour with singed hair and burn marks on his arms. He told me he was going to the infirmary."

Bram chuckled. "They were practicing fire-making spells, and one must have backfired. I remember when Flitwick taught us that last year. The entire class period was chaos; it was hilarious!" 

Leo just shook his head, and reached for the nearest platter of whatever food had been made that night. "I hope he's okay. Getting burned isn't too fun."

Drake cocked an eyebrow at the statement. "I'm guessing you've gotten burned before, then?" 

Leo nodded, pulling his sleeve all the way up and revealing a patch of skin on his bicep that was slightly darker than his actual skin tone and looked as if it had miniscule white veins running through it. "My family had been shooting off fireworks during the summer one year, and my older brother Jacob accidentally aimed a roman candle at me."

"What's a roman candle?" Bram inquired

"Wizards don't have those?" Leo asked quizzically.

The two other boys shook their heads.

"I've heard of them from my dad, but I don't know what they are," Drake piped in. "He's a muggle."

Leo hummed thoughtfully, and shrugged. "I know the wizarding world has fireworks, but I didn't know where they came from or if they were different in any way. Anyhow, roman candles are these fireworks that are in really slender cardboard cylinders, and you hold them in your hand while they shoot off balls of different colored sparks."

"That sounds dangerous," Bram commented. "I want twenty of them."

"You really don't," Leo cautioned. "They hurt like a bitch if you get hit."

Bram just shrugged. "I'll take the risk."

Leo rolled his eyes and turned his head in the direction of the Gryffindor table, quickly scanning over the table for Klein. Realizing that his red-headed friend wasn't there, Leo frowned slightly. "Huh," he murmured. "That's kind of weird."

"Something wrong?" Drake questioned, noticing the smaller boy's expression.

"It's nothing," Leo insisted, turning back to the table. "I was just looking for Klein, 'cause I thought him and I were gonna hang out after dinner. I can't seem to find him, though."

"He's around here somewhere," Bram assured.

"Probably," Leo replied. "I came in here with him, so I'm just a little bit confused about why he's not here."

"He'll show up eventually," Drake chimed in. "Don't worry about it."

\--------------

Marcus made his way down the corridor from the infirmary, huffing to himself about the charms lesson gone wrong. "My fucking hair is ruined...singed ends....the blonde streak isn't even blonde anymore...gonna have to redye it....I'm covered in soot......"

The sound of two hurried pairs of footsteps around the corner caught him off guard and he stopped abruptly, listening. He heard voices, both of which belonged to boys, and one sounded eerily familiar.

"Where are we going?"

"Shhh, quiet! Dinner is almost over, and people could already be leaving the Great Hall."

"Okay, but what are we--"

The second voice was quickly cut off and ended in a soft oomph, the sound of a classroom door being closed followed swiftly behind.

Curious as to what was going on, Marcus silently tiptoed around the corner and leaned his head against the nearest classroom door. Only silence was to be heard. Marcus had just turned around to leave when he heard a chair scrape against the floor from the very same classroom he had just been listening in on. Quietly, he opened the door a sliver, and peaked inside.

Seated at the farthest desk from the door in the front row was Klein, straddled by a brunette fourth year Ravenclaw boy that had one hand resting on Klein's shoulder and the other tentatively making its way underneath Klein's shirt. He was suckling gently on a patch of skin right below Klein's left ear, and the Irish boy's eyes were shut as he visibly struggled to keep his breathing calm.

"Well, this makes things very interesting," Marcus whispered to himself. Carefully and silently, Marcus closed the classroom door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow y'all sorry for the disappearance, and a chapter that's like 6 months overdue. There's really no excuse for why I was gone so long, except that I just didn't feel like writing, and I knew that whatever I wrote at that time would turn out bad. Hopefully this suffices for now, I'll try to get back into the swing of things!


End file.
